Endless Wonder Is Scary As Shit
by miekhead
Summary: AU: Leena is the new Warehouse agent, Claudia is the innkeeper.


_Tiny A/N: Thank you so much for this prompt. I've been struggling with a block recently and this finally got me back into writing. I hope you guys like it - this may well be my new multichapter so watch this space for more updates later on once I've finished other projects. Not sure yet... but if people like it I will continue. _

**Warehouse 13 - Claudia/Leena AU**

**oxoxoxo**

It was hard to keep up. Leena was practically jogging behind the middle-aged, obese man. Granted she wasn't the fastest of walkers but Artie… that was his name, right? He was pretty damn fast.

Next thing she knew, she was being told to go to some kind of B&B down the road. She didn't even know where she was, so how in the hell was she supposed to find said B&B when she truly was in the middle of nowhere? She was a Reiki healer from San Francisco and all of a sudden she was being whisked away to South Dakota of all places, standing in some secret Warehouse and had been told to move all her things and say goodbye to everybody she loved. _Well that's not exactly true._ She shook her head at herself.

In honesty, she was pretty much a loner. She had a crystal shop, and when she came home, she painted. That was basically her life - day in, day out. It all changed though when one day she was involved in a bank heist, a day when she had been the most scared in her whole life. And yet, in one moment of madness, Leena had stormed up to the armed man, took hold of his tie, ripped off the pin and bent it until it snapped. Onlookers thought she had a deathwish, but in that millisecond of terror, the crystal healer knew what she was doing was right, and the only way to survive. Something had told her to destroy that pin. Leena would later learn from the strange woman named Mrs. Frederic was called an artifact; a tie-pin, once belonging to the infamous bank robber of the thirties, John Dillinger. Apparently the pin caused the leader of the heist to gracefully jump over counters, have a somewhat uncontrollably fluid moments and heightened sense of awareness meaning both police officers and brave hostages were no match for him. Apart from Leena, that is.

The woman wiped at her brow, mopping sweat from her forehead with her wrist. She was surprised that her old '73 Volkswagen Bus had lasted this long. Tapping her chin, she pondered whether this new job, whatever it fully entailed, would let her buy a new car. Or at least one with AC. Sure, she'd been through a lot with her camper. She smiled fondly at the festivals she'd attended, before her expression soured. No more festivals for her. No more sleeping in the back of her van, that was for sure. She looked up at the beautiful B&B and turned off the engine with a sigh. Grabbing her satchel, she slipped out of the van and locked the door, though she wasn't sure she needed to.

"Dude, please tell me that's a Type 2 and I'm not imagining things…" Leena swivelled around to the sound of the voice… or groan, rather. There stood a woman, her hair like a chestnut and she had on a pair of ripped overalls, a Ramones t-shirt underneath, and a 1940s styled headscarf wrapped around her head with a sprouting of badges pinned to the fabric. Leena's heart fluttered almost instantly.

"It is," she nodded modestly. "Am I in the right place?"

"Are you Leena?" the redhead asked stepping forward to inspect the old vehicle, brushing her finger against the window with a distant grin.

"Yes…" the healer scuffed her feet against the grass.

"Then you're in the right place." The young woman smiled and turned, finishing her analysis of the vintage hippie van before offering her hand. "Claudia Donovan, innkeeper, inventor, master of inventory… all the 'I's." Claudia wrinkled her nose and let go of the sweaty palm. She gave Leena a once over and lifted her eyes back to her face. "You look thirsty."

"I…" Leena frowned, trying to ignore the sparkling colors around this woman's head. "I guess I am…?" That was happening more frequently. More involuntarily… These colors, so fascinating, so enlightening and…

"I've got Coke, Kool Aid, Root Beer, real beer, Aqua Fresca, sweet tea, iced coffee, lemonade, Sex on the Beach," to this one, the innkeeper gave a wag of her eyebrows, "mint julep, mojito—"

Leena held up a hand and grinned. "Uhh… Sweet tea? That sounds nice."

Claudia tilted her head up, squinting her eyes. "Virgin or spiked?"

Leena bit her lip. "Spiked, actually."

"Vodka?"

"Rum."

"Coming right up," Claudia winked and snatched the woman's satchel, carrying it under her arm. Why did everybody walk so fast? Leena trotted behind the woman and caught up as Claudia flicked a remote control from her pocket and pointed it at the French doors. They flung open and they walked inside. Leena's mouth dropped open. Scattered around the old inn were worktables dotted at the edges of each room, brass, copper and various wires and metal components made the whole building look like she was about to spend the rest of her life in a H.G. Wells novel.

Besides that though, the dark décor was pretty much the same as her house was. Or… her old house. That was going to take a while to get used to. As Claudia sat her down at the dining table to go and get the drinks, Leena had to admit she was pretty raw. Why on Earth was she here? She read auras, sure… that didn't mean she had to be on the front line like the two agents she'd met at the Warehouse, did it? Holding her head in her hands, the woman let out a massive sigh and let her eyes dart around the inn once more.

Before she knew it, out came the younger woman carrying a small tray with two identical drinks. "Spiked Sweet Tea," Claudia chirped, setting it down on the beautiful mahogany circular dining table.

"Thanks…" Leena replied, taking a cautious sip and wincing. She broke into a grin. "That is wicked."

Claudia chuckled and cracked her knuckles. "That's how I roll." She watched the Californian intently, watching as she squirmed in her chair refusing to look up.

Leena couldn't look up. If she did, the crazy swirling colors around the innkeeper's head would make her pass out. She'd never felt it this strong, not since the… She swallowed and took another swig. _The bank heist_. She had only wanted to deposit the money she'd received from her grandmother for her birthday that day when… She shook her head and rid the thought from her mind.

Finally, eyes still down, she spoke. "Why am I here?" She huffed slightly. "I'm a crystal healer. I own a shop, I'm not a Secret Service Agent like those other people, I'm not… I'm not even a police officer…" she frowned and finally looked up seeing eyes of compassion staring back at her.

"Doesn't make you any less important." Claudia said sincerely and frowned. "I'm not either. I joined here when I was 19, no qualifications, no…" she trailed off slightly and sat up. "Mrs. Frederic chose you for a reason and," she leaned forward with a grin, "I'd listen to her. Trust me."

Leena sighed again and turned to look at her satchel by the door. "I'm gonna get killed, aren't I?"

"Nah," Claudia waved it off and took a sip of her own tea. "We've got your back. You can trust us on this." She got up and shimmied her way towards the kitchen. Pausing, she turned, a look of darkness causing her eyes to flutter. "And if you do? You'll die a hero." And with that, the redhead disappeared back into the kitchen.


End file.
